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Substantive Criminal Law

Substantive Criminal Law. By Felix Romero. Review- Substantive Law. “Laws that define which behaviors will be subject to punishment by government…” (Smith 2003). Examples include prohibition on murder, rape, assault, and burglary.

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Substantive Criminal Law

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  1. Substantive Criminal Law By Felix Romero

  2. Review- Substantive Law • “Laws that define which behaviors will be subject to punishment by government…” (Smith 2003). • Examples include prohibition on murder, rape, assault, and burglary. • Punishment can range from mild fines to prison and, in some states, the death penalty.

  3. Substantive Criminal Law • “Concerned with acts, mental states, and accompanying circumstances or consequences that constitute the necessary features of crimes” (Territo 2004). • To find an individual criminally responsible requires evidence that the criminal act be committed without defense, excuse, or justification (Territo 2004).

  4. Criminal Responsibility • There are five essential elements to a crime. • All five elements must be present for a particular behavior to be considered a crime. • The five essential elements are: • Actus Reus • Mens Rea • Concurrence of actus reus and mens rea • Absence of attendant circumstances that would negate criminal liability • The Criminal Act must have caused the illegal harm

  5. Actus Reus • Means “guilty act”, and refers to the forbidden act itself (Territo 2004). • Stems from the idea that thoughts alone do not constitute a crime.

  6. Mens Rea • Translates to “guilty mind” • This is also known as the criminal intent of the crime. • “The concept of mens rea is based on the assumption that people have the capacity to control their behavior and the ability to choose between alternative courses of conduct.” (Territo 2004)

  7. Concurrence of Actus Rea and Mens Rea • The prosecutor must also show that the criminal act and the criminal intent happened at the same time. • “A lack of concurrence in time between mental state and act is a strong argument that the mental state did not activate or cause the act.” (Territo 2004)

  8. Absence of Attendant Circumstances that would Negate Criminal Liability • Proposes that certain circumstances exist that would negate criminal liability. • Some of these circumstances include: • Self-Defense • Insanity • Mistake • Infancy

  9. Criminal Act Must Have Caused the Illegal Harm • “Causation relates to crimes that require that a defendant’s conduct produce a given result.” (Territo 2004) • Some crimes, such as perjury or forgery, are defined so that the crime is committed without regard to whether the results in fact occurred while other offenses, such as murder and battery, require a specific result.

  10. References • Smith, C.E. (2003). Criminal procedure. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, Inc. • Territo, L., Halsted, J.B., & Bromley, M.L. (2004). Crime and justice in america: A human perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

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